RUSSIA HOLDS SUSPECT OVER THEFT OF WOMEN’S SKELETONS

ARMENPRESS:
18:20, 4 November, 2011

Police investigating Russian grave robberies are holding a man after
the remains of at least 20 women were found in his flat, Russian
media report.

Mummified remains of 27 women were found in the flat in Nizhny
Novgorod, a police source told government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The suspect, 45, is a local historian, Russian news agencies say.

He is believed to have dug up the remains of young women at various
cemeteries and put dresses on them.

An official statement on the case is not expected until after Friday,
a public holiday in Russia.

The remains are believed to have been stolen from local graves in
Nizhny Novgorod, a city on the Volga.

The suspect may be charged with desecrating human remains, according
to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

He apparently specialised in exploring cemeteries and was planning
to publish a guide book, it adds.